Ventilating system



Nov. 6, 1928. 1,690,905 F. E. MODEVITT ET AL VENTILATING SYSTEM Filed March 27, 1926 mnuu!!! gwuemtow Patented Nov. 6, 1928.

UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE;

FRANCIS E. McDEVITT Ann HORACE A. COLBURN, or RUTLAND, vERMoN'i.

VENTILATINYG Y SYSTEM.

Application filed March 27, 1926. Serial No. 97,955.

This invention relates to improvements in ventilating systems and more particularly concerns a system and an apparatus there'- for by which ice-cooled apartments may be ventilated without the use of power appliances. 2

According to this invention the humidity of the air and its specific gravity is caused to eifect a displacement of the air in the com- 10, partment upwardly through a discharge tube, whereby fresh air from the exterior is drawn into the apartment at a regulated rate. a

The apparatus is easily applicable to excially valuble in maintaining an. ice-cooled meat cooler free from deposited moisture.

In the drawings: a

Figure 1 represents a cross section through abuildingihaving a cold storage apartment thereinwhich is built according to the present invention. 7 V

Fig. 2 is a section on a much larger scale of one of the ventilating. devices employed T in the system. I

In Fig. 1, the building is represented as having side Walls 10 and a roof 11, with a floor 12 and a ceiling 13. A cold storage room is represented within this building as having the heat insulating walls 14, the heat insulated floor 15 and the heat insulated ceiling 16, each of which is preferably composed of several layers for obvious reasons. It will be understood that the interior of this compartment is cooled by ice or the like, and that various perishable articles are to be stored within such compartment, under such conditions that a free exchange of air within the room is necessary: in'a closed apartment of this type, the melting ice soon saturates the air with moisture, and some of the latter is deposited on the walls and ceiling, so that dampness is prevalent.

To eliminate such depositing, two pipes 17 and 18, respectively the discharge and inlet, are provided which extend from within the room to points above the roof 11 of the building. Flashing sleeves 17 a and 18 are appropriately provided at the roof line to prevent the entry of rain water etc. .into the building.

As shown in Fig. 2, each of these tubes, say 17, is provided at its upper end with a sleeve 19 which carries a. slightly dished disk of metal fabric 20, which in turn is 5 isting buildings, and has been found espesecurely fastened to a cylindrical band 21 which supports the conical top 22. This top-22 is connectedby the stirrup 23 with the sleeve 19, so that the upper structure is r gid and assured against displacement relative'to the pipe 17. It will be understood that this construction further affords a free nlet or egress of air from the interior of the respective pipe while the screens prevent the entry of insects into the pipes.

At its lower end, the pipe such as 17 in Fig. 2 has an inner sleeve 24 which may slide upwardly and downwardly in the pipe and.

is of suchdimensious as to be held in frictional engagement thereby. This sleeve 24: is closed at its lower end by the plate 25 and has in its cylindrical wall a number of aper- .tures26, 26, which may be more or less uncovered by the lower portion of the pipe according to the prevailing position of the sleeves 24, as respects height, within the lower end of the pipe 17 A flashing'platefl 27 is mounted upon the lower end of the pipe 17 and serves to prevent the passage of air around and about the pipe 17, into or out ofthe cold storage apartment. It may be remarked that the apertures26-to both pipes are kept as near the ceiling as possible; and

recesses in the ceiling may be provided for the lower ends of the pipes. I The operation of this-device is as follows It will be assumed that thecold storage apartment is partly filled with ice and contains perishable articles such as dressed poultry or the like which must not only be maintained at a' low temperature but also must not be held in contact for a consider able time'with foul or moist air, since the presence of such air would diminish the value of the food. The air outside of the than the air within the apartment.

The atmospheric air heats the upper end of the pipe 17 and causes the column of air therein to move upward, and a slight suction to be exerted which draws the air into the pipe 17 from the apartmentgAt the same time, the warmer drier air entering pipe 18 moves downward as the bottom of this air column is cooled from the ice in the apartment. The moist air in the apartment rises and passes out the pipe 17 by reason of its lesser specific gravity compared to the dry entering air. A circulation of air is thus provoked by which the cool moist air near the ceiling of the apartment moves into and upward in pipe 17: and is replaced by dry air from the atmosphere.

The relative amount of movement of. the air may be varied at will by changing the rela-tive positipn of height of the sleeves 24 in the respective pipes. It the sleeves 24L are pushed to the limit position in an upward direction, no air can enter or leave the tubes 17 and 18 with regard to the cold storage apartment, and hence no ventilation occurs. If a small portion of theapertures 26 in the sleeves 241: of the respective tubes is disclosed, a relatively slight ventilation occurs, etc.

In an actual'system, it was found that when the relative atmospheric humidity was dd, the relative humidity at the ceiling of the apartment was 89, and at its floor 84. The walls were maintained dry, and a saving of about in ice consumption was eiiected.

The apparatus is easily and cheaply con structed and avoids the necessity of any mechanical or thermal agent for effecting a movement of the air.

The invention is not limited to thespecific illustration set forth but may be varied within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a ventilating system for a humid apartment inlet and outlet pipes opening into saidrapartment cooled directly by ice exposed in the air in said apartment at the ceiling, said pipes extending upwardly and opening to the atmosphere, said outlet pipe having a greater length exposed to the atmosphere below its upper openingthan has said inlet pipe. 7

2. In a ventilating system for an apartment cooled by ice exposed to the air therein, inlet and outlet pipes opening into said apartment at the ceiling thereof, said pipes extending upwardly and opening to the atoutlet pipe and is replaced by dry atmospheric air descending into and through said inlet pipe.

3. In a ventilating system for apartments, a vertical pipe section open at top and bottom, a cap for the upper end 01 said section rigidly supported on said pipe andhaving a closing screen at its bottom whereby said section is in open communication with the atmosphere, and an inner sleeveslidable in the-lower end of said pipe section and frictionally supported thereby, said sleeve be ingclosed at its lower end and having apertures in its. cylindrical portion whose areas may be selectively covered according to-the vertical position of said sleeve in saidsection. y

In a ventilating system for an apartment having a means therein to cool the atmosphere thereof tobelow the dew point, inlet and outlet pipes opening into said apartment at the ceilingthereof, said pipes extending upwardly and opening'to the at mosphere adjacent their upper ends, said outlet pipe having a greater length between the ceiling opening and its upper opening than has said inletpipe, so that the moist air in said apartment rises into-andthrough said outlet pipe and is replaced by dry atmospheric air descending into a-ndthrough said inlet pipe.

In testimony whereof, we aiiix our signa tures.

FRANCIS E. McD-EVITT. HORACE A. COLBURN. 

